Shana's Musings: August 2013

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Open House

Yesterday, we went to Arabella's open house at school. This is where she actually received her teacher assignment and was able to see her classroom. She was so excited to go back to school and to show Jay and I around. She is going to do amazing! She checked out her classroom, was quick to find her name on her desk and cubby, and seems to like her teachers. I think her teachers are going to be great and the classroom is very bright and happy..a perfect place for her to continue on her knowledge journey.

Goodbye August

I can't believe that it is August 31st...where has this month gone, or better yet, where has this year gone?? We had typical Charlotte weather - hot, sunny, humid - today and so we spent it in the yard trying to keep cool and busy. Arabella was bored this morning and Max was up WAY to early so it was a low key day for us. We set up her slip-n-slide in the yard and she had a blast. Max even got to check it out. I am so lucky that both of them love the water!

Max enjoyed some watermelon to cool down and then we played a bit with a ball while Arabella cooled down in the water. She was so silly and giggly while we played, and you sure can tell he loves his sister. he watches her every move - every time she would run by, he would stop and look at her to see what she was doing.

And to close out August, Max decided he was big enough to get behind the wheel...the wheel of the Cozy Coupe that is. He loved it!

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Max Is Really On The Move

My Wild Thing!!

Some of the best money spent this Summer was on drama camp for Arabella! It was a week long full day camp and she loved every second of it! I am already going to sign her up for it next Summer! She made new friends and was able to spend time with one of her TK teachers, Miss. Laura. There were only 4 kids total in the class but it was the perfect amount. It was nice to not have so many kids that it was crazy - they learned so much about performing arts - costumes, set design, songs and even their lines. She worked so hard and was super excited for us - and extra excited because Auntie was here - to come to her play at the end of the week. The performance was of "Where The Wild Things Are" - it was adorable! She was a "Wild Things" and she did amazing! She has a natural stage presence and such an animated personality that it really shined on stage! I am so proud of you Arabella! You did a AMAZING job. We loved watching you and seeing your hard work pay off! You are my Wild Thing!

The kids helped to design the sets! They looked just like the illustrations in the book.

They even got to sign the wall!! Just like true actors!

Arabella and Miss. Laura

More Lowes Build and Grow Projects

Arabella has a ball when she goes to Lowes with Jay and they do the Build and Grow projects. They have some pretty cool themes and she always makes sure that I sign her up for the next one. Max and I joined Jay and Arabella last week so we could see what it was all about. And it is serious business. She recently made projects for Monsters University and the new Disney Planes movie. She does a great job and likes to get help from Jay when she needs it. Keep it up my little builder! Next month, I'll be taking her and we are going to build a fire truck! Fun!

She is so proud of the projects she has done so far. I think doing them gives her confidence to try new things and test our her problem solving skills.

Playing Catch Up

I guess we have been having too much fun this Summer. We have been super busy and now it is time for me to play catch up. I know, I know, I always say I am going to stay on top of the blog...it is after all my (our) life journal so I need to try and do a better job at keeping it up to date. Otherwise, I forget and miss things that are important! So here goes...it may b e a bit out of order so, bear with me... We are emptynester's. The birds had their babies. Arabella loved keeping an eye on the nests and what was going on in them. it was a great lesson for her to learn about this Summer. She would check on the birds a few times throughout the day and even consulted the bird book that Grammie sent to her to see how long it would take the eggs to hatch. She was very proud when she found the page with the information on the Doves and told Jay all about them at dinner - it was priceless - and just like it said, 2 weeks later, the eggs hatched! Jay was able to take some great pictures for us so we could see the progress while we were in Ohio.

We also had another nest in one of the Boston Fern plants hanging on our front porch. This nest had 3 or 4 eggs in it...and Arabella loved to stand on Jay's shoulders to peer in and see what was going on.

When we were in Ohio, Jay sent me the most random text saying he was at a Panther's football game. No granted, it was pre-season football, but he isn't the football fan in our household, I am, so I was a little bit jealous that he got to go. He had fun, and I guess this is one of his work perks being where there is an NFL team...in Montreal, he got to go to Habs games at the Bell Centre, not it will be NFL games!

After a ton of hard work, we FINALLY had our garage sale...and I am so happy it is done and over with! I never want to have one again...sure it is a good way to get rid of things you don't want, but they are so much work! I just have clothes to get rid of now and I am going to do a few consignment sales. Lori even came down for the weekend to help out, we couldn't have done it without her extra set of hands!

We had fun with Auntie and she enjoyed spending time with Max and Arabella! They loved it even if it was just for a few days!

Max loved doing tummy time and I love this pic of him on the lounge chair on the patio!

And that is just a start! Stay tuned...looking at the camera memory card there are a ton more pictures to weed through!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

First Day of Kindergarten!!!

It is hard to believe that Arabella started Kindergarten today. We were both a bit nervous as we didn't know what to expect. She told me last night that she misses Montreal, her friends there and her old teachers. She said she wanted to go back to Magic Circle and then started crying. It just broke my heart and I had no idea what she was going to be like this morning. But when I woke her up, when it was still pitch black out, she said she was excited and she got right up and proceeded to get ready for school. School starts at 7:30 which is so very, very early for little kids...I guess they do it that early because supposedly elementary school kids perform better earlier in the day. The new routine will be a big adjustment for all of us. I could tell when she was eating her breakfast she was starting to get nervous and little apprehensive about going. And when we got to school and new the teachers, she was a bit shy and wasn't her normal outgoing self. Only part of the kindergarten class started today, on Friday, we have an open house to see which teacher she is assigned to and she will then meet all of her new classmates. And then on Tuesday, the school routine officially starts. I think she will do amazing this year. She was all smiles and very excited when she came out to the car this afternoon. I am so proud of you Arabella, you were so brave and stronger than Mommy this morning. You didn't shed a single tear, I cried a ton after I left you. It was so very hard to leave you with teachers we don't know a thing about. I worry so much about you and your safety, but I know that you will be just fine.